


Coffeeproof

by Leah_Red



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Aliens!, M/M, coffee!, dogs!, everything you need for a good time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11752608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leah_Red/pseuds/Leah_Red





	Coffeeproof

Frank looked at his assistant and frowned a little, curious. Gerard was... odd to say the least. Most of the time it wasn't anything he could put a finger on, but one thing was standing out to him more and more often.

Gerard claimed to be from some small town in the east, but he never said where he was from exactly. He also had a strange accent he hid, and always spoke in some weird sort of nonsense language when he groomed and bathed the animals. Frank watched from the other side of the room as Gerard washed off the soap from a large German shepherd, talking and humming happily to himself. Whatever he was saying seemed to be working. The dog didn't even try to shake it's fur out as it stepped calmly out of the washing area and stood still so Gerard could dry him off with a large towel.

"This is the last one for the day, Gee."

"Hmm?" He looked up, a little surprised. "Already?"

"It's almost eight, dude. We just have to walk this guy over to the kennel and we can drive home."

"Aw... okay." Gerard kissed the top if the big dog's head and finished drying him off while Frank closed up and made sure the doors were locked and lights were turned off. It was just a short walk out back to where Jamia and Lindsey were taking care of the dogs overnight. Frank noticed when the large shepherd got more rowdy and barked as soon as Gerard left the main kennel entrance, but the girls had this taken care of. Frank waved them goodnight and went back to meet Gerard by the car.

"I don't know how you manage to work your magic with the dogs like that."

Gerard laughed and got in the passenger seat. "It's not magic."

"Then what is it?" Frank buckled up and started the car, turning the radio down so they could talk instead of jam out like the way they had on the way there.

"A secret." Gerard gave him a grin and Frank only rolled his eyes. Half the time when he asked something about Gerard's life he got either no answer, a change of subject or 'a secret'.

"When are you gonna tell me any of your secrets?"

Gerard shrugged. "What's for dinner?"

Frank sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "It was your turn to cook."

"Frank, you know I can't cook, I only-"

"You only make things, yeah yeah." He shook his head a little. That had been another one of the things that made him confused... Gerard had a fridge that was almost completely empty most of the time, aside from a few oddly labeled bottles of his favorite foreign soda, but whenever it was his turn to cook he brought over something delicious and freshly prepared. Frank had given up asking about it, knowing he'd never get an answer.

"Are we going to eat at my place or yours?"

"Mine, but you can bring the cats too."

"Oh yay!" Gerard bounced in his seat and Frank wondered again why exactly he hadn't asked him out yet. They lived next door to each other in the same apartments and Gerard almost always slept over on Frank's couch. They had worked together since Frank offered him a temporary job at the groomers that turned out to be not so temporary, but... Frank just couldn't make himself do it. "Maddy will like getting to play with the cats."

Frank wasn't so sure how he knew, but he nodded. Maddy was his little mutt dog, too ugly for anyone else to pick up from the shelter, but she was well-behaved and loved to cuddle and that was good enough for him. Gerard rushed over to his place to get the food ready and Frank let the cats over. The two cats looked like complete opposites. One was black with yellow eyes, and the other was white with blue, but they were never far from one another. Gerard always looked embarrassed when someone asked about the names but Frank thought they were adorable- Nighttime and Cloud.

"Hey guys." They rubbed against his legs and Cloud mewed loudly before they ran off to bug Maddy, and Frank took the opportunity to clean up a bit. He was able to pick up the mess from the day before (they had played a little bit of tipsy Twister and knocked everything off the coffee table) by the time Gerard came over with a plate of waffles and a bowl of fruit.

"Breakfast again?" He snatched a hot waffle off the plate and hissed when it burned his fingers and tongue.

Gerard's smile fell a little. "But I like breakfast..."

Frank laughed and got out a plate for himself and a spoon to scoop out the fruit over their waffles. "I'm not mad, it's alright." He gave him a grin. Sometimes Gerard didn't always get sarcasm but he only thought it was cute. Gerard cheered up right away and got his own plate ready while Frank put on a movie.

"Can we watch a scary one again? But an old scary one. The one with the pod people." He grinned a bit as he plopped down on the couch next to Frank.

"I don't see why not." Frank pressed play and folded his waffle in to a fruit taco, watching the opening credits.

By the time the movie had finished, the cats and dog were sleeping together in a fluffy pile and Gerard was sleeping with his head on Frank's lap. Frank sighed and ran his fingers through Gerard's black hair. He really really liked how this felt... why couldn't he just man up and ask him out? That way Gerard could sleep in a bed for once... Frank's bed, to be more precise. But now wasn't the time to think about that. He did his normal nighttime routine: cover up Gerard and turn the lights off, brush his teeth, and then go to bed.

The last step was really getting hard to finish though. Frank rolled around in the covers, first hot, then cold, and then falling half asleep only to wake up because of a nightmare or weird dream. It was close to four in the morning when he finally gave up on sleeping and went out to sit next to Gerard and maybe talk to him if he was awake. When he peeked into the living room something seemed off, though, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Gerard was still there, asleep. Frank didn't notice the strange dappling on his skin until he was up closer... He thought it was just the way the light was coming through the window at first but there was definitely something different about Gee. His skin was darker, looking more like the color of almonds. There was a pattern on him too, in a dark cocoa- it looked like the rosettes like a jaguar had on its fur. Frank traced one of the circular patterns lightly. From what little of Gerard's skin was left uncovered, the patterns were faint on his face and neck, and darker on his temples and the back of his arms.

Gerard stirred lightly and blinked his eyes blearily. Frank could have sworn that that he saw his eyes were a warm gold- but then Gerard sat up and he suddenly looked like his normal pale self, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Is it time to go to work?" He yawned and stretched a little. 

"No... not yet. Just checking on you." Frank tried to hide that he was just a little bit shaken up. Whatever Gerard had just been... it wasn't human.

"Oh... 'kay..." Gerard snuggled back down on the couch. Frank shook his head a little and went to his room again. At the very least he could sit down and try to rest. Obviously he wouldn't be getting sleep any time soon.

The next morning he was able to get Gerard kicked out to his own apartment and dressed for the day, but he was still in his room when Frank went over to tell him he was ready to go.

"I'm almost done! Hold on a minute!" 

Frank rolled his eyes. "Diva," he mumbled. In the mean time he made sure Cloud and Nighttime were back over at the right apartment, and Maddy went outside before they had to go. He was about to yell at Gerard again when he saw something interesting on the small coffee table in Gee's living room. It looked like a black wristband, made out of some combination of leather and metal. Pretty emo, he thought to himself. He slipped it on his wrist and it fit perfectly. He and Gerard shared clothes all the time so a fancy little bracelet wouldn't hurt anyone.

Gerard had his shaggy black hair tied up in to a small ponytail, and he didn't seem to notice the missing wrist band. "Let's go."

The ride to their workplace seemed shorter than normal but Frank couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was the way Gerard was singing to himself as he looked out the window. For once it was in English and it didn't give Frank a headache trying to figure it out. Frank put the soft singing out of his mind as he opened the shop, getting ready for the first appointments. It was a slow day, so they had plenty of free time unless someone came with a walk-in. 

"I'm gonna go check on the small animals!" Gerard called from the back and Frank made a noise somewhere between 'okay' and 'have fun with that'. The lack of sleep was really getting to him, and he poured the biggest mug of coffee he could. Surely what he had seen with Gerard had just been some weird after effect from a nightmare or something. One cup of coffee didn't seem to help, so he decided he might as well just tell Gerard what he saw and hoped he confirmed that it was just some crazy dream.   
Frank sneaked in to the back, watching Gerard pet and play with some of the smaller animals. When he looked through the window to the back of the shop, Gerard had two cats sitting on a grooming table and he was trimming a dog's nails while sitting on the floor.

"I just wish I could tell him," he mumbled softly. "He deserves to know, doesn't he? He knows I'm not from here but... I think he knows anyway..." The dog tried to pull it's paw away but Gerard shushed it. "Hold still, please." Frank blinked a few times when the dog settled down. "Thank you." Gerard sighed and soon was done trimming it's claws. "I think he caught me too. Last night." He bit his lip. "I should be more careful. But I'll tell him soon. I have to."

Frank was listening, but he closed his eyes to lean against the door frame. He started to nod off though, and only woke up when he felt the coffee spilling down the front of his shirt and pants. 

"Oh no, Frank!" Gerard had just put the dog back in the small animal kennels when he saw him spilling lukewarm coffee all over himself.

"Shit, I'm sorry..." He put the empty cup on the closest counter and started to take his shirt off right as Gerard gasped.

"Wait, what is- don't get that wet!" Frank froze with his shirt half over his head.

"What?" He let Gerard move his arms and slip the bracelet off of his wrist before he took his stained shirt off all the way. "Is it like expensive or something?" He tried to blot at the coffee on his jeans but it looked like a lost cause. 

"No it's... wait..." He went a little pale. "Were you listening just now?"

Frank nodded, feeling more awake but more confused every second. "Sorry, I just thought you were talking to the dog. You.. wanted to tell me something?"

Gerard bit his lip and looked at the bracelet in his hands before saying something in the odd soft language that Frank never understood. He frowned and then put the bracelet back on Frank's wrist. "You saw me last night, didn't you?"

"Um. I did see you..." He thought back to the odd patterns on Gerard's skin, and the way his eyes flashed gold in the dim light. Frank gasped when he blinked and he saw that same pattern on him now, and his eyes WERE a soft gold, shining a little bit in the fluorescent lights. "Is that... really you?" 

He nodded and held still when Frank reached out and touched the side of his face. "You're not freaked out? I mean... you have every right to be..." 

Frank shook his head. "No! Why would I be? You practically live in my apartment, and we eat dinner every day and I keep avoiding asking you out-"

"You want to ask me out?"

"Why would you being... from really really far away change that?"

Gerard blinked a few times. "You mean that?" 

"Well yeah." He held his arms out a little, feeling chilly from the damp coffee. "...can I change yet?"


End file.
